Monthly Archives: July 2013

ON LOVE; PART CCCXXXIII

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GoodWill IS Love in Action

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“But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth  not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy” (James 3:14-17).

The writings of the Apostle James are the most straightforward and bluntly written of ALL the Epistles and generally go straight to the heart; not only of the matter at hand but of the reader himself as He clearly depicts what IS wrong with even the aspirant’s and the disciple’s approach to the reality of divinity as the Master teaches. Not much is Truly KNOWN about James and there IS NO certainty as to who he actually IS and, as for most ALL writings from gospel times, there is some question as to the True origin of this letter. All this aside, the Apostle is among the accepted writers by the Church Fathers and while we do not agree with much of the pomp and their devotional approach, they were sincere men who had much knowledge and understanding of the events that had recently transpired. This said, we should understand here that James may have been the “James the son of Alphaeus” (Luke 6:15) who is named in the synoptic gospels or he may have been, as Vincent tells us, the Lord’s brother, saying: The most competent critics generally agree in designating as its author James, the president of the church at Jerusalem, and known as the Lord’s brother ⁴. The idea of brother is mentioned by the Apostle Paul saying “Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother” (Galatians 1:18-19) and we should remember here that this word brother need not mean a blood relative and that it is possible that these Jameses are the same. Holding to their new found doctrine, in the writings of the early Church Fathers James is distinguished from the Apostle James, son of Zebedee by various epithets; he is called James the brother of the Lord by Paul (Galatians 1:19), James the brother of the Lord, surnamed the Just by Hegesippus and others, “James the Righteous”, “James of Jerusalem”, “James Adelphotheos” (Ἰάκωβος ὁ ἀδελφόθεος), and so on *. There is much opinion regarding James and his relationship to Jesus with some claiming that, based on the doctrine of perpetual virginity, Mary had no other children with yet others offering him even as Joseph’s son from a previous marriage.

Needless to say, confusion abounds, and in the end none of this matters. It is interesting however  to read something about the man himself from Vincent’s work as it gives some light to the idea that James not only wrote these straightforward and blunt words but that he lived them as well as his example of the Master’s teachings. We read: the later traditions of the Jewish Christians invest him with a priestly sanctity. His austerities and devotions are described in extravagant terms. He is said to have kneeled until his knees were as hard as the knees of camels, and to have been constant in prayer in the temple. He went barefoot, and practised abstinence from wine, and wore the long hair, the linen ephod, and the unshorn beard of the Nazarites, and even abstained from washing. He was known as “The Just.” The people vied with each other to touch the hem of his garment; and he is reputed to have called down rain in the drought, after the manner of Elijah. His chair was preserved as a relic until the fourth century, and a pillar in the valley of Jehoshaphat marked the spot where he fell ⁴. Of course we can not be sure of these things but in this picture of his austerity, and in his focus upon the things of God, we should see a man who IS a doer of the word as he adjures us ALL to be saying: “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). Vincent also tells us of James’ writing as he ends his introduction to the Epistle of James saying: At the same time, the very legalism of the epistle is the outgrowth of the Sermon on the Mount, the language of which it reflects more than any other book of the New Testament. It meets the formalism, the fatalism, the hypocrisy, the arrogance, insolence, and oppression engendered by the sharp social distinctions of the age, with a teaching conceived in the spirit, and often expressed in the forms of the Great Teacher’s moral code. “The epistle,” says Dr. Scott, “strikes the ear from beginning to end as an echo of the oral teaching of our Lord. There is scarcely a thought in it which cannot be traced to Christ’s personal teaching. If John has lain on the Saviour’s bosom, James has sat at his feet” ⁴.

Now I must admit here that it IS the Sermon on the Mount as comprised of the entirety of the fifth, sixth and seventh chapters of the Gospel of Matthew and the complete Epistle of James that had made the largest impact on me as an aspirant and perhaps showed me the reality and the Truth of the teachings of the Master and leading me to that final and necessary push to True Repentance. It is only since then that I have come to a better understand the writings of Paul and of John and the cosmic Truths that they embrace and, for quite some time in my own life I discounted the words of Paul as misleading; only to find out it is not his words that are so but the doctrinal interpretations of his words. Much of what Paul has had to say has been the fuel for the doctrinal fire that has spread for more than 2000 years but buried in his words are also some of the most profound Truths and the revelation of many mysteries to those who can see them. It was Paul’s admitted role to deal with each group of people in such a way as to be accepted and listened to as an authority and hence we find the assortment of topics on which he writes to the aspirants and the disciples in the different cites and regions to whom he wrote. His writings on the law, on the role of women, on the role of ‘spiritual gifts’ and on the nature of the death of the Master can most all be seen as written to specific audiences in need of some clarification of their own thoughts. However, as we KNOW, sprinkled about in most ALL of his epistles are streams of great Truth and the source of much understanding and for a flavor of his style of addressing us he says: “What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel. For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. And this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you” (1 Corinthians 9:18-23).

Today then we understand Paul and his approach to teaching and we understand James as well in his straightforward and blunt teaching on the Way of the Disciple and the dos and don’ts of the man who desires to be counted among them as they are clearly portrayed for us in the Sermon on the Mount. But doctrine relies mostly on itself and promotes itself and its interpretations of the writings of the Apostle Paul while, in our opinion, saying but little of James’ writing nor of the Truth of the words of the Master and it is for these reasons that we write this blog and that we hold our position that there is little written that is of more importance in the Life of the aspirant than the words of the Sermon on the Mount; these words ARE the Life of the disciple and the Way of the disciple and, the apparent Life of the Apostle James as we read in those things written about him. Three sayings have become for us the gateway to discipleship and the Path to the Kingdom and each of them is related to the way of life that a man in the world chooses; four sayings that comprise our whole journey should we choose to take it:

1. “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46).
2. “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).
3. “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22).
4. “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24).
5. “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40).

In these five things we can find our way to the Kingdom and to discipleship and, as we strive to do these things we are aspirants, which IS the call of the Master to ALL to “Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able” (Luke 13:24). The reward IS in the striving and the greater reward is in the doing and in reading these words we should understand the admonition that ALL should strive, knowing that ALL will not succeed.

This IS of course our view of the scriptures that are written in regard to the Life and the teachings of OUR Master, the Christ, and we have over the course of our essays embedded His words and the words of His apostles into our own thoughts from across the spectrum of religions and religious disciplines as well as the more occult and esoteric writings of Blavatsky and our Tibetan brother whose writings come to us through the pen of Alice Bailey. ALL of these sources contain Truth albeit from varying perspectives and, it is only in understanding the perspective that one can understand the Truth. And we KNOW or can KNOW the Truth from the working of that Truth at the top of our essay today, these words from the Apostle James who tells us clearly what IS and what IS NOT Truth and Wisdom from above, from our own Souls. Everything that we hear, see, read and ponder as we Truly strive IS, in a strange way, reflected off of the mirror of our True self, our Souls and this in pondering ALL things as Truths. However, we must understand here that to Truly strive one must have made that decision of Repentance and must have begun the long work of moving his focus away from the self and onto the not-self, the Soul, the Christ Within. Until this point in the Life of a man, it IS the personality that IS focused on the self and the self in the world that IS the reflector of what is seen and read and heard and this reflection is generally self-centered and self-absorbed until that time of Repentance where one decides to change. And regardless of one’s position in Life this IS a Truth, albeit by degree, which can say to ALL that some will have an easier time at Repentance than others based upon their way of Life and their spiritual collateral.

And so then we should see in James’ words a sort of double entendre where one can interpret his words on the Wisdom from above into his own conventions of what IS “first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy” forgetting the prior understanding of what IS NOT Wisdom from above or misunderstanding the very nature of the words, that they mean ALL thoughts, attitudes and actions that are for the self in the world. Or, one can interpret them as they are offered and as can be understood by the man who IS rightly focused and sees the selfless nature of his words. And it is unfortunate that doctrine promotes the former way by their way of presenting bits and pieces of scripture that they leave to stand alone but which were never intended to stand out of the context in which they are offered. And we close here for today with this idea that per force goes with this understanding of Wisdom from above; that regardless what one may believe IS that Wisdom, whether it IS reflected off of the Soul or off of the personality in the world dependent upon the person, there is yet the matter of deception that we find in his saying: “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves“. And, here we add our own convention that in striving, in the Life of the aspirant, that so long as his focus IS right, that it is on the things of God; so long as this IS True, Wisdom and revelation and realization from above are Truly there.

We will continue with our thoughts in the next post.

Aspect of God	Potency	Aspect of Man	In Relation to the Great Invocation	In relation to the Christ
GOD, The Father	Will or Power	Spirit or Life	Center where the Will of God IS KNOWN	Life
Son, The Christ	Love and Wisdom	Soul or Christ Within	Heart of God	Truth
Holy Spirit	Light or Activity	Life Within	Mind of God	Way

Note on the Quote of the Day

This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment.

Repeating another quotation from the Buddha as our Quote of the Day:

Better than a thousand hollow words Is one word that brings peace. Better than a thousand hollow verses Is one verse that brings peace. Better than a hundred hollow lines Is one line of the dharma (law), bringing peace. It is better to conquer yourself  Than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, Not by angels or by demons, Heaven or hell. Better than a hundred years of worship, Better than a thousand offerings,  Better than giving up a thousand worldly ways In order to win merit, Better even than tending in the forest A sacred flame for a hundred years –  Is one moment’s reverence For the man who has conquered himself.

(Dhammapada Part 8; the Thousands)5

Today’s Quote of the Day is again from the sayings of the Buddha; this one is call the Thousands. One is hard pressed to find differences between these teachings of the Buddha and the teachings of our Master the Christ. What do we see above? First there is PEACE and how much better it is than the hollow sounds of Pride and Arrogance so often heard around the world. Next there is the idea of conquering one’s self and this should be likened to all that the Master and His apostles have to say about overcoming the carnal life, the flesh. Once a life is governed by the Inner Man, the Soul he can stand free and clear of all the worldly ways; here is our Victory and here is our PEACE.

Let the peace of God rule in your hearts!

• ⁴ Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition, 1888
• ⁵ The Dhammapada Translated by Thomas Byrom
• *   Wikipedia contributors. “James the Just.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 19 Jul. 2013